Fruit pitting apparatus



Sept. 8, 1931. A. K. SMITH FRUIT FITTING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 28, 1926' l INVENTQR.

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Sept. 8, 1931. A. K. SMITH I FRUIT FITTING APPARATUS.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 fl ww Sept. 8, 1931. SMITH 1,822,381

FRUIT FITTING APPARATUS Filed July 28, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 7/ A? f f? 0 .2

IN! 'ENTOR 2a SW56 A TTORNEYJ Patented Sept. '8, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT K. SMITH, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY ASSIGNOR TO THE HILLS BROTHERS COMPANY, INC., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK FRUIT FITTING APPARATUS Application filed July 28, 1926. Serial No. 125,358.

This invention relates to machines for pitting fruits and more particularly to pitting dates, which are particularly difficult to pit due to them sticky nature and non-uniformity of position of the seeds within the date Attempts have been made in the past to remove the seed by pushing it longitudinally from one end and out the other end. Such a process has the disadvantages of being un certain, because the osition of the seed varies in different dates, oi being Very wasteful, because in pushing the seeds out some meat of the fruit is always extracted with the seeds, and of being relatively slow because the fruit is held stationary while the stone is being ejected and therefore the seeding operation is intermittent.

It is the purpose of this invention toconstruct a machine that will extract pits from dates continuously and economically and to accomplish this purpose this invention contemplates slitting t e dates longitudinally and extracting the pits from the side of the fruit through the slits. 4

As an aid in removing the pits means are provided for holding the dates and definitely positioning the pits within the dates.

An object of this invention is to take dates as they are shipped in bulk, remove the pits and prepare them for stufiing with an artificial filling to take the place of the seed, if so desired, without wastlng-any meat of the fruit.

Other objectswill appear from a further consideration of the description and the drawings which illustrate one embodiment of this invention.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a machine made in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail partly in section showing the vertical positioning pins;

Fig. 3 is a plan view partly in section of the portion of the machine shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 66 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section taken on line 77 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a section taken on line 88 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a link of the auxiliary chain.

The machine is supported upon four legs 1 on top of which is mounted a table 2 having a centrally disposed opening 3 within which the upper stretch of a continuous link conveyor 4 travels. This conveyor serves as a means for feeding the dates'to a series of operating tools for extracting the pit and is composed of a series of interconnected links 5 Which encircle and travel over two sprockets 6, 7 secured to two shafts 8, 9, supported by the table one at each end of the opening 3. The shafts may be driven by any convenient source of power (not shown) to cause the conveyor to be moved in a direction indicated by the arrows. The shaft may be mounted and adjusted so as to bring the upper stretch of conveyor links within the opening 3 and flush with the top of table 2. Each link 5 serves as a compartment for one date and is substantially U-shaped in cross-section, the date fitting snugly within the concave recess of the link. At one end of each recess there are two shoulders 13 and 14 projecting into the recess to act as stops and position the date, there being suflicient space between the shoulders to permit entry of the operating tools later to be described. One end of each link is constructed with a single lateral extension 10 bored to receive a connecting pin 11 and the opposite end is formed with bifurcated extensions 12 to receive the single extension of the adjoining link and is also bored to receive a connecting pin 11. To provide for easy replacement of the links the pin 11 is made with its central portion having a smaller diameter than its end portions thereby allowing the single extensions of the links to drop a little below the bifurcated extensions thereby engaging the shoulder of the pin and preventing an axial movement thereof. To change a lin it is only necessary to lift one link until all the the conveyor as the-links turn under and traverse the lower stretch between pulleys id-and 7. v p

Cooperating with the lower. stretch of the conveyor is'anauxiliary chain 16 which'carrice thepit centering pins which locate and definitely center the pits of-the dates before the dates are operated upon by any of the operating tools later described. This chaln is composed of two parallel series of links carrying vertical and horizontal pit centering pins and travels over two sprockets 17, 18 positioned within .the enclosure of the con veyor 4 and is'so 'adjusted that the lower stretch of the chain will be directly over the lower stretch of the conveyor. The chain is driven at the same speed as the conveyor and may conveniently be driven from the s'ame source of p'dwer (not shown).

One of the-series of links comprising the link carrying chain is composed of links 19 interconnected by meansof extensions 20 and pin 21 in a manner similar to the way in -which the conveyor links 5 are connected so that they are also readily replaceable. Each of the links 19 are designed with a horizon tal portion 22 which extends across the top of the conveyor link as the chain overlies the conveyor and a lower portion 23 extending along one side of the conveyor link. The upper portion 22 is channeled to receive three vertical pit centering pins 24 and the '45 lower portion 23 is drilled to receive three horizontal pit centering pins 25 and is also channeled to provide a passageway 26 for the enlarged heads of the horizontal pins.

The other series of links 27 comprising the pin chain is composed of links 27 interconnected in the same manner as the other links heretofore described. These links 27 are substantially rectangular in cross-section and lie along the opposite side of the conveyor links to that occupied by links 19. The lowor portions of these llnks are drilled and channeled similar to the lower portion 23 of links v19 to receive three horizontal pit centering pins 25,.

- oo The vertical pit centering pins 24 which .are also used to initiate the pit extraction as well as assist in centering the pit may conveniently be constructed of short stubs of piano wire (which ends penetrate the date) secured in larger square shank portions 28 lower stretch of the chain and as the which slide in the links and which have laterally extending projections 29 adapted to engage in a vertical elliptical cam track 30 supported between the upper and lower stretches of the pin carrying chain. This track controls the vertical'movement of the pins 24 in the channeled ways of links 19 through the en agement of the head of the pin in the trac The cam track or groove approaches closer to the links during the chain links traverse the lower stretch and surround theconveyor links .the vertical pins are moved downwardly by the drop in the track,

penetrate the dates and vertically center the pits. As the track approaches substantially the center of the lower stretch thetrack takes a decided dip as at 31 and then retreats upwardly again. This dip in the track causes the pins 24 to be projected downwardly and thereby strike the pit and push it downwardly and partially out of the date thereby initiatlng the pit extraction.

The horizontal pit centering pins 26 carried by both links of the chain may also be conveniently constructed from fine stiff wire such as piano wire and are securely held in larger head portions 32 adapted to slide in the channeled passages of the links. The

heads 32 of the pins 26 project below and beyond the links and engage in horizontal cam tracks 33 situated links, chain.

immediately below the two and surrounding the pin carrying These tracks control the horizontal position of the pins throughout the entire length of the chain. During the under stretch of the chain and conveyor these tracks converge toward the conveyor links and cause the horizontal thereby hoizontally center the pits.

During the inward and downward movement of the three sets of pins the two side links carrying the centering pins must be moved simultaneously with the conveyor links in such relative positions that the pins carried by the side links will exactly register with the holes in the conveyor links. In order to be sure that the necessary close, intimate relationship is maintained between the chain links and the conveyor links the links are made to pass between guide members. A bed plate 34 is positioned under the conveyor links to contact with the bottom of the conveyor links and the bottom of the cam tracks 33 thus forming a lower guiding surface for the conveyor links. members 35 are secured to the bed plate and extend upwardly therefrom to prevent any side swing of the links, and top guards 36 are bolted to the side guide members to prevent any movement of the links in an upward direction. The links are thereby held and guided on all four sides so that they are necessarily restricted to a close sliding fit in correct position for registration of the pins and Side guide pins to move inwardly and I knife,

- the opening in 1 veyor links apertures. to the top guard and in turn supports the vertical cam track.

The bed plate 34 carries the four operating tools, namely the slitting and spreading the pit extractor, the date reformer, and the date ejector. Situated near one end of the bed plate and extending upwardly throu h a centrally disposed slot in the plate direct below the center of the conveyor link is a sllttin knife 38 which slits the dates longitudinsilly as they are carried by the moving conveyor over the edge of the knife. The retreating edge of the knife is thickened as at 39 to spread the slit edges of the dates apart to permit easy entry of the pit ejector lnto the dates. Secured to the bed plate rear-' wardly of the knife at the retreatmg edge of a large discharge aperture in the bed plate is a pit ejector 40 WhlCh has an arcuatepointed or finger-like pro'ection which extends into the slitted dates a ove the seeds and extracts the seeds as the dates continue to travel with the conveyor, dischargin the seeds through the bed p ate into a suitable receptacle. Immediately to the rear of the pit ejector and attached to the bed plate is a date reformer 41 consisting of a concaved strip (Figs. 2 and 7) longitudinally inclined upwardly so the extremity extends somewhat into the recesses of the conveyor links, which functions to reform the slit dates to their original shape by pressing the spread edges together as the dates pass over the strip. Rearwardly of the reformer is a date extractor 42 secured to the retreating edge of another discharge opening in the bed plate. The date extractor is similar in shape to the pit extractor being in the nature of a curved finger and extends into the bottom of the conveyor links in order to get behind the reformed dates and eject them from the conveyor.

Any suitable means for cleaning the conmay be em loyed such as a'steam jet indicated at 43 with a trough 44 positioned below to catch the drippings.

Below the discharge openings in the bed plate are two receptacles 45, 46 mounted upon a tray or shelf 47 supported by legsl for the v purpose of receiving the pits and dates respectively as they are ejected from the conveyor.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The operator places the dates into the links 5 of the conveyor 4 as the upper stretch of the conveyor passes through opening 3 in table 2. The traveling conveyor carries the dates around to the lower stretch of the conveyor, the dates being held therein by the guard 15. As the conveyor leaves sprocket 7 and traverses the lower stretch the pin carrying links of the cooperating chain surround three sides of the conveyor links and cam tracks 33 cause the horizontal centering pins to move inward- An elbow bracket 37 is secured ly and center the pits of the dates horizontally. Simultaneously the vertical cam track 30 causes the vertical centering-pins to move downwardly and center the pits vertically. As the links carry the dates past the slitting and spreadin knife 38 the knife slits the dates longitudina ly and also spreads the cut edges outwardly. As the dates leave the knife a further depression in the vertical cam track 30 causes the vertical ins to move farther downwardly and there y push the seeds partially out of the dates immediately after which the vertical ins are partially withdrawn. At this o1nt the pit'ejector enters the spread slit 0 the dates and extracts the partially dislodged itsdischarging them through the opening eneath the ejector and into the receptacle 45. As the date continues 7 to transverse the lower stretch of the conveyor the reforming tool 41 forces the spread edges of the dates together to their original positions and the centering ins are withdrawn bythe cam tracks after w ich the date ejector 42 enters the conveyor and extracts the reformed dates discharging them into the receptacle 46. As the conveyor links progress up- Wardly around sprocket 6 they are washed by a jet of steam so that any sticky orgummy substance is removed before the links again traverse the upper stretch of the conveyor to be refilled by the operator.

It is obvious that man minor alterations may be made without epartingfrom the spirit and scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

I I claim:

1. In a fruit pitting machine, a fruit conveyor, a knife for longitudinally slitting the fruit, a spreader for opening the slit, and an ejector for extracting the 'pit through the slit, said knife and ejector being inde endent of one another and disposed at space points along the path of travel of the conveyor.

2. In a fruit pitting machine, a fruit conveyor, a knife for longitudinally slitting the fruit, a spreader for opening the slit, an ejector for extracting the it through the slit, and means for closing t e slit.

3. In a fruit pitting machine, a fruit conveyor, cooperating elements on opposite sides of the conveyor and movable toward and away from each other, said elements on their approaching movement entering the fruit and engaging the pit to center it, a knife for longitudinally slitting the fruit, and means for extracting the pit through said slit.

4. In a fruit pitting machine, a fruit conveyor, means entering the fruit andengaging the pit for centering the pit, a knife for lonpit through the slit made by ing t cause the for o ning the slit, an extractor for removh pit and means for closing the slit.

6. In a fruit pitting machine, a fruitconveyor, members movable toward and away from each other for positionin the pit, said members entering the fruit, a nife for longitudinally slit-ting the fruit and an ejector or extracting the pit through said slit.

7. In .a fruit pitting machine, a fruit conveyor, movable pit centering pins, cam tracks for controlling the movement of said pins to cause the pins to move inwardly and center the pit, a slitting and spreading knife, a pit extractor for removing the pit through the slit, and means to reform the fruit.

8. In a fruit pitting'machine, a fruit conveyor, movable pit centering pins, cam tracks for controlling the movement of said pin to pins to move inwardly and center the it and thereafter causing said pins to partially eject the pit, a slitting and spreading knife, a pit extractor for removing the it through the slit, and means to reform the ruit.

9. A fruit pitting machine comprising a fruit conveyor, a cooperating chain partially surrounding a portion of said conveyor having reciprocating pit centering pins mounted therein, cam tracks for actuating said pins, and a pit ejector mounted below said conveyor.

10. A fruit pitting machine including a link fruit conveyor, a cooperating chain comprising a plurality of links partially surrounding a portion of said conveyor, reciprocating pit centering pins carried by said chain, cam tracks for actuating said pins causing said pins to penetrate the fruit and center the pit during that period when the chain surrounds the conveyor, a slitting knifepositioned opposite the chain and an extractor for removing the said knife.

11. A fruit pitting machine including a perforated link fruit conveyor, vertical and horizontal centering pins carried by a 00- operating link chain, said links surrounding three sides of said conveyor for a portion of its length, a vertical cam track for actuating said vertical pins, horizontal cam tracks for controlling said horizontal pins, a slitting knife positioned below said conveyor, a pit ejector supported adjacent said knife, and means for moving said vertical pins to initiate the extraction of the pit.

12. A-fruit pitting machine including a perforated link fruit conveyor, vertical and orizontal centering pins carried by a cooperating link chain, said links surrounding three sides of said conveyor for a portion of its length, a vertical cam track for actuating said vertical pins, horizontal cam tracks for controlling said horizontal pins, a slitting knife positioned below said conveyor, a pit ejector supported adjacent said knife, a reformer for closing the slit, and means for moving said vertical pins to initiate the extraction of the pit.

13. A. fruit pitting machine including a perforated link fruit conveyor, vertical and orizontal centering pins carried by a cooperating link chain, said links surrounding three sides of said conveyor for a portion of its length, a vertical cam track for actuating said vertical-pins, horizontal cam tracks for controlling said horizontal pins, a slitting knife positioned below said conveyor, a pit ejector supported adjacent said knife, a reformer for closing the. slit, means for moving said vertical pins to initiate the extraction of the pit, and a second ejector for removin the fruit.

14. n a fruit pitting machine, a fruit conveyor having pockets for the reception of the fruit, members mov ble toward and away from each" other for positioning the pit between them, said members entering the fruit to engage the pit, a knife for longitudinally slitting the fruit, and an ejector for extracting the pit through the slit.

15. In a fruit pittin machine, a fruit conveyor having pockets or the reception of the fruit, pins movable toward and away from each other for centering the pit between them in their approaching movement, said pins entering the fruit and engaging the pit, a knife for longitudinally slitting the fruit and an ejector for extracting the pit through said slit.

16. In a fruit pitting machine, means for holding the fruit, means for positioning the pit within the fruit including elements disposed on opposite sides of the fruit and movable to enter the fruit and engage the pit, a knife for longitudinally slitting the fruit, and an ejector for extracting the pit through said slit,

17. In a fruit pitting machine, a fruit conveyor having pockets for securely holding the fruit, pins movable toward and away from each other for centering the pit within the fruit during the approaching movement of said pins, said pins entering the fruit to engage the pit, a knife for longitudinally slitting the fruit and an ejector for extracting the pit through said slit.

18. A fruit pitting machine including conveyor means to carry the fruit through a machine, a track over which said conveyor means travels, a pit centering means includ' ing elements mounted to reciprocate toward and from each other, said means enterin the fruit and engaging the pit, means to orce the pit from the fruit and means to position the centering means adjacent the pit and subsequently cause the pit-forcing means to be actuated.

19. A fruit pitting machine including conveyor means to carry the fruit through the machine, a track over which said conveyor means travels, a pit centering means mounted to reciprocate toward and from the path of travel of the conveyor means, said means including elements movable toward and away from eachother and entering the fruit to engage the pit, means to force the pit from the fruit and means to position the centering means adjacent the pit and subsequently cause the pit-forcing means to be actuated, together with a knife disposed below the track and extending into the path of the conveyor means for slitting the fruit, said knife being in advance of the pit centering and forcing means.

20. In apparatus for pitting fruit, the combination of means for supporting the fruit, cooperating members movable toward and away from each other for entering the fruit and engaging the pit for centering the pit, and means engaging the end of the pit and ejecting it from the fruit.

21. In apparatus for pitting fruit, the combination of means for supporting the fruit, cooperating members disposed on opposite sides of the fruit in the support, means for causing the members to move toward each other to enter the fruit and engage the pit to center the pit between them and to separate to move clear of the fruit, and means for engaging the end of the pit and ejecting it from the fruit.

22. In apparatus for pitting fruit, the combination of means for supporting the fruit, cooperating members disposed on opposite sides of the fruit in the support, means for causing the members to move toward each other to enter the fruit and engage the pit to center the pit between them and to separate to move clear of-the fruit, and means for engaging the endof the. it while it is;

held centered and ejecting it mm the fruit.

23. In apparatus for pitting fruit, the combination of means for supporting the fruit, cooperating members disposed on opposite sides of the fruit'in the support, means forcausing the members to move. towardeach other to enter the fruit and engage the pit to center the pit between them and to separate to moveclear of the fruit, means for engaging the end of the pit, and means for causing a relative movement of the fruit and pitengaging means to efiect ejection of the pit.

24. In apparatus for extracting pits from dates, the combination of a support for a date, members disposed in ali nment on 0pposite sides of the supported ate, means for moving said members toward each other toenter the date and center the pit between them, and means for engaging the pit while it is centered, and ejecting it from the date.

25. In apparatus for extracting pits from dates, the combination of a support for a date, members disposed in alignment on opposite sides of the supported date, means for moving said members toward each other to enter the date and center the pit between them, means for engaging the pit, and means for moving the date and said pit-engaging 31631118 relatively to eject the pit from the ate.

26. In apparatus for extracting pits from dates, a conveyor having supports for dates, members disposed at opposite sides of each support, means for moving said members toward each other to cause them to enter the date and center the pit between them, a pitengaging element, and means for moving said supported date and element relatively to one another to effect ejection of the pit from the date.

27. In apparatus for extracting pits from ates, the combination of a plurality of supports for individual dates, members disposed at opposite sides of each support and movable toward each other to enter the date and center the pit within the date in said support, means for operating said members, an element adapted to engage one end of the pit in said date, and means for moving said date and element relatively to effect ejection of the pit from said date.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my signature.

' ALBERT K. SMITH. 

